guitguy

This is an interesting topic with a lot of grey area. As a tattooer, it's pretty disheartening and insulting when someone blatantly rips off your work. As a client, well.. I was talking to Mr. Campise about not putting my piece online as to skate around the biters and he laid it out pretty simply. Nobody is ever going to do the original justice, and it's pretty much just free(albeit really obnoxious) advertising. Nothing can ever outshine true authenticity, and whoever ends up with the copy ends up walking around with a permanent bummer. So that's kind of where I sit on that matter... It sucks, it's inevitably going to happen, don't do it if you tattoo, and don't get down on it as a client.

It isn't worth wasting your time caring about what tattoos other people get. People have been getting tattoos for as long as there have been people, I have no reason to believe that people will ever stop getting tattoos. It's larger than all of us and it will survive.
Sorry for being a dirty hippie there.

cltattoo.....I think you really hit the nail squarely on the head there. Thanks for posting that. It actually made me feel better about the whole kettle of fish lol

I thought that was a really interesting part of his philosophy as well. I'd agree that it's kind of a bummer how tattoos are becoming so demystified, but I also think that that mysticism can never really die as it's a very intrinsic part of tattooing. What I see happening now is more of a divide between the people who "get tatted" and people go "get tattooed." The former category is generally composed of people who like the idea of getting tattooed and do so to embody the counter-cultural status quo/because it's cool/because wiz khalifa has tattoos. I think that the latter category falls more into people who do their research on good tattooing and solid artists, those who follow a path toward the right tattoo. The people who have a certain reverence for the process and go about it almost ritualistically, and I believe that's what Horiyoshi III-sama was talking about. I don't know if that will ever really die...

It is funny that the 3rd picture even copied those two dark spirals on the shoulders that look like the might have been existing work that Shige had to work around. (please correct me if I'm wrong)

Brilliant video, thanks a lot! Seeing Yoshi's bodysuit in person is truly special, if you ever find him at a convention, follow him around until he gets naked. I don't think its technically illegal.

Here's the non-mobile version...

Nice one! I am super excited to watch Alex Snelgrove grow as a tattooer because while she's putting on great tattoos right now, I think as she tattoos more and gets more experience she is going to be really amazing. She is such an incredible artist and her handpokes are completely ridiculous. There's a handpoked portrait on her instagram that is better than what I've seen a lot of people do with a machine.
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Here you go, handpoked portait by Alex Snelgrove (this tattoo isn't on me):

http://instagram.com/snelgrove

I ended up in The Pearl again this weekend. Yesterday we really closed in on finishing my left arm. Only a few spots left at this point. Tim made a landscape with a palm tree in the foreground and added a little filler skull on the inside of my elbow. I have to say I am very pleased with the progress. One more session in June should wrap things up. I apologize for the crappy pictures.

wondering who else has seen this? watched it several times on youtube. think it is a really good example of skilled tattooers talking intelligently about the craft and their opinions on tattooing as far as where it was, where it is, and where it is going.

egads! Well, there always have to be extremes... Think I'll show this to my mom the next time she complains.

@ else....Wow! That snake head really caught my eye. Awesome work. Nice colour and composition. The shading out at the scales stands out for me big time. That rocks. Congrats!

Awww! @Delicious and @Pugilist Thanks guys!
It's incredibly difficult to get a good picture of my own legs though!!
And... I've still got some big ol' spaces... When I look at them I see so much that's left to be filled LOL!!
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By Paco Cendon at Electric 13 in Austin.
Aside from the AMAZING snake he put on me he was so fun and easy to sit for, can't say enough nice things about him!
The full snake is on his Instagram, the face is my favorite :)

That Chris Conn piece is INSANE. Saw that he posted on his Instagram last night. Right when Chris was getting back into tattooing, I was lucky enough to meet him and chat briefly when he stopped into Kings Avenue Tattoo NYC. That is a KILLER piece you got there.

Hi @guitguy - great introduction. I'm in Toronto and I am a big fan of Tim Pausinger as well. In fact, The Pearl has several great tattooers and I am working towards getting tattoos from all of them (Bill Baker, Glennie W, Lissa Vino, India Amara, Tim Pausinger, Daniel Innes, and most recently, Nathan Draper.) I tend to stick to The Pearl and the guest tattooers they have coming through on a pretty regular basis. In the last few months they have had visits from Nick Collela, Mario Desa, and Nikki Lugo. I missed Mario last time, but managed to get in to see Nick and Nikki. Looking forward to hearing about your next foray into The Pearl.

Nice intro, and welcome. Sounds like you have some great tattoos. I'd suggest looking into Cory Ferguson who tattoos in Oakville and does really nice blackwork.

Welcome!
Great story, and what f*kin' luck.
Can't help you with strictly traditional in Tononto (some here likely will be able to), but I really like David at Archive Tattoo :: Home

Hi everyone,
Another former lurker/ new member. I have been checking out this forum for about a year now and have become a much more frequent visitor in the last few months and decided I might as well join. Seems like a great thing is going on here. A wealth of info and a lot of interesting people.
At the age of 44 I am still what might be considered a novice with 5 tattoos (not counting a few little hand poked things I did myself at age 14...haha....I still love them). And my tattoo experiences have been rather few and far between. First one at 16, second one at 17, then a huge lull until my 30s. My 5th and largest piece was done just short of my birthday last year. I have had a fascination with tattooing since childhood that has never left me. Even through said lull, I stayed interested and was a big fan of tattoo publications throughout the 90s. I remember quite clearly reading the Freddy Corbin "Mr. Niceguy" article among others and now wonder if I still have those mags in storage somewhere. Nowadays I am hooked on "Tattoo Age" and "The Gypsy Gentleman". IMHO, they can't make enough of those and I've had to watch them all a number of times.
My first tattoos were not terrible, but not great either. But, they are mine and I still dig them. I have become quite fussy however, in terms of who puts needle to my skin. The turning point was getting a piece from Tim Hendricks some years back as a walk in in Miami. It is just a small, very simple traditional piece but, the quality of it turned my head. I then knew what flawless line work and shading looked like and it ruined me, in a good way. I had no idea who Tim was at the time but, I sure found out and have followed his work ever since and have made it a goal to have him work on me again. Flight from Toronto to Cali are a bitch on many levels though lol!
I have the itch almost constantly and am always thinking about where and what my next piece will be. I am foremost a fan of American Traditional and have become a fan of Steve Byrne, Valerie Vargas, the crew of Smith Street and countless others. I also love traditional japanese. I also have a serious fascination with the work of Thomas Hooper right now. I am rather jealous of folks who live in near proximity to these great artists but also know there is a lot of talent right in my backyard. My last pice was done by Tim Pausinger at The Pearl Harbor Gift Shop in Toronto. Great shop and Tim is a fine young man and talented tattooer with many great years ahead of him.
I would love to hear from people about artists in this neck of the woods that they have experience with and would reccomend. I do quite a bit of research but, sometimes it gets kinda mind boggling with so much info out there. Sometimes my eyes begin to cross and all the shit looks the same ;)
Anyways, thanks for reading. I look forward to becoming an active member of this community. Cheers!
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Oh, I would be remiss if I did not mention Scott Sylvia's interviews as an obsession of mine along with the Tattoo Age and Gypsy Gentleman docs. The interviews are awesome and educational. My fave has to be the Oliver Peck one. Fucking hilarious! What a character!

Beautiful work there Eilin ! Congrats ! Chris Conn's work is a new fascination of mine and I don't mind saying that I am rather jealous!